Westside Digest

Santa Monica : Printer Label Fraud Alleged

Looking for the union label may not do the job in Santa Monica, according to Virginia Jimenez, a representative of the local printers' union. She appeared before the City Council this week to complain that someone had fraudulently used the union label on a printing job for the city.

Santa Monica had promised to send printing jobs to union printers, who are represented by the local Allied Printing Trades Council, but Jimenez said the city apparently contracted with a firm that misrepresented itself as a union shop to get the more generous prices that union printers receive.

Jimenez said that the union is pursuing similar cases throughout Southern California and that such fraud has become a serious problem in the last two years.

Council members said they contract with several printers through consultants. The council promised to investigate the matter.